The story of a game I thought I would never be able to play again being released

Back in the feature phone era, there was a time when I was obsessed with mobile games. That was about 11 years ago. While some popular games were being ported to smartphones, one of the titles I loved never had any talk of a port, and I was sure I would never be able to play it again. Its name was 'Skateboard Man.' It is a simple, auto-side-scrolling action game.

Developed by Game Studio and published by G-MODE

Setting aside the fact that I couldn't play it, it felt incredibly lonely and sad to think that even if I thrashed about on Twitter shouting about how much I loved it, no one else would ever be able to play the game either. I couldn't even evangelize it. I couldn't even launch the game myself. I hear there is a movement among some social games that are ending service to make them viewable offline, and I think that is truly something to be grateful for.

Sudden good news

Well, May 5, 2020.
When I drew a picture of Skateboard Man to fulfill a hashtag that said [Draw a picture of a genre you used to be into just for getting likes], and searched for it to try and tweet it like a promotional post (I didn't say I could actually promote it), a page appeared that indicated it was going to be archived. When I looked into it further, it said it would be released as an archive on the Nintendo Switch. When I found a reliable source and confirmed the announcement on the official website and official Twitter account, my feeling was, 'I'm glad I'm alive.'

Having given up on it a long time ago, I couldn't calmly accept this good news. To my shame, I screamed about it on Twitter, I was even noticed by the official account, and since there happened to be a Q&A project going on, I asked a question in a reply and even got a response. I looked for a way to write a letter to the official team, I was congratulated by my followers, and I was at the level where I wanted to upload a promotional video for this occasion. An otaku who had been starving and feeding only on memories within themselves was bugging out due to the sudden supply.

Anyway, I can play it again. Since it's a feature phone app game, the controls are very simple. I bought it as soon as it was released, and I was relieved and happy that the controls hadn't changed. I was incredibly happy to be able to meet 'Skateboard Man' again. I had work, so I said I would only play a little bit and go to sleep, but before I knew it, 30 minutes had passed. It happens.

I still love the original work

I am the type of otaku who creates fan works, so I used to draw pictures of Skateboard Man and write dream novels, but the one I love most is the original work, so I am savoring the happiness of being able to touch it. Above all, the feelings I felt back then have been called up again, and there is a joy as if the feelings of 'love' that I have cherished have been accepted in return.

'Skateboard Man' is a simple game, but that's exactly why it's fun to master. In addition, the design, music, and pixel art are intensely to my liking. Perhaps because I hadn't touched the original at all for the past ten years, there were parts I had forgotten, but when I played it with this release, I realized that even if the feeling of loving it remains, it does fade. If more time had passed, I think only the memory of 'I love it' would have remained. Thinking about that, I think I was really lucky to know about this release at such a good time, and I cannot thank the people involved who made this release a reality enough.

By the way, 'Skateboard Man' has a 'Skateboard Man 2', which is a legitimate sequel with increased volume, three playable characters, and even more polished music, pixel art, and design, and I love this one too, so I would love for it to be released in the archives project.

There are 12 courses in total. As you rack up scores, the grade of your skateboard increases, and the routes you take within the same course change. When the skateboard grade increases, the picture on the title screen changes. If you complete 60 stars for each grade, a star in the color of that grade will appear on the title screen.
What happens if you make it to the end...?

'Skateboard Man' is now available on the Nintendo Store as of June 4, 2020.